Five Minute Friday - Accountability

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

need for accountability

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Well, my graphic looks a little different this time, and my "five-minute" post is going to take a little different approach today too. Because, as it turns out, I was in a little group that discussed accountability just yesterday. I met with a few of the other reviewers in our homeschool group, and our job is to provide accountability to the homeschoolers in the group, while balancing that with each family's right to homeschool the way they like.

Some critics of home education worry that no one is holding homeschool families accountable for what they teach or how they live. Actually, we hold ourselves to very high standards. Of course there are exceptions, but in general, that's what I've seen. Most homeschoolers join themselves to some kind of group to help them with accountability, even if they live in a state that doesn't require it by law. Whether it's an umbrella group, local school oversight, a homeschool fellowship group, a co-op, or a few likeminded friends, homeschoolers understand the importance of what we are doing, and want to make sure we're doing a good job.

In our meeting yesterday we also touched on what it looks like to keep our students accountable. By the time students are in high school grades, they should be responsible for managing their own time, getting their assignments done, and balancing school with church and work and social life. Yes, they need help and guidance, but this is a skill they need to learn so they are prepared for life on their own someday.

As a homeschool parent, I tried to keep my kids accountable and teach them those life skills. I don't know how well I did that job, but the early indications from my young adult children are that they figured it out. As a co-op teacher, I hold my students (all high school age) accountable for doing all the assigned work. For some of them, this is a steep learning curve, since they've been used to having their teacher (mom) around all the time and she's been keeping track of assignments and setting the schedule. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but during the high school years is a good time to transition kids to doing that on their own. As a homeschool reviewer, I have to keep my families accountable to keep appropriate records, to have integrity in how they award grades and credits, and to represent the homeschool community well. And thankfully, they do.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

~Luke 16:10~

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"

~Matthew 25:21~

When we are faithful and are willing to be held accountable for small things, we show that we can be trusted with important things. And our children's education, upbringing, and ultimately, their hearts and souls are very important things indeed. As parents - homeschooling or not - let's hold ourselves to a high standard, and let's be willing to be held accountable.

 

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I said it would be a bit different, and here's how. Since I talked about accountability for homeschool students and for homeschooling parents, I'm going to include links to some of past articles that touch on those topics.

Developing Study Habits

How Do You Keep Records and Calculate Grades?

Encourage One Another

High School Assignment Tracking

Organizing and Record-Keeping

This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Accountability".

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